Arlington County Approves 450-Unit Apartment Project

The Washington, D.C. area is about to get even more apartments. Last week, the Arlington County Board voted unanimously to approve the redevelopment of an old office building into more than 450 apartments.

The Washington, D.C., area is about to get even more apartments. Last week, the Arlington County Board voted unanimously to approve the redevelopment of an old office building into more than 450 apartments.

The Paperclip Building, at 400 Army Navy Drive in Crystal City, opened in 1967. The 230,000-square-foot office property is currently empty, a victim of the Base Realignment and Closure legislation.

LCOR purchased the building through an affiliate, Arlington Apartments L/CAL LLC, in 2012 with plans to turn it into apartments. The Pennsylvania-based developer paid $39 million for the property but did not reveal how much it will invest in the project, to be re-named The Altaire.

Plans call for the construction of a residential building separated into two, 20-story towers. The Altaire will have about 492,000 square feet of space and 453 units. It will also include three levels of below-grade parking and two levels of above-grade parking, a total of 453 spaces, as well as 182 bicycle spaces. The project will be LEED Gold certified. SK&I Design Group is the architect.

In a news release, Arlington County noted that the project includes 15 affordable units and that it provides more than $9.7 million in public benefits. LCOR will donate $2.2 million to the Affordable Housing Investment fund, $1 million to the Army Navy Drive Complete Streets Project, $1.1 million to Crystal City Open Space and $280,000 for traffic signal upgrades.

The developer plans to start work in the second quarter of this year, with completion scheduled for the second quarter of 2018.